Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

March 17, 2020

COVID-19 in Children: Initial Characterization of the Pediatric Disease

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  • The authors summarize key findings from a few studies that looked at COVID-19 in pediatric cases – 13% of confirmed cases were asymptomatic; 5% of symptomatic children had dyspnea or hypoxemia, and 0.6% progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome or multi-organ system dysfunction; preschool-aged children and infants were more likely to have severe clinical manifestations than older children. 
  • Since many infectious diseases affect children differently than adults, it is important to understand these difference to learn about the pathogenesis, disease management and development of therapeutics for COVID-19. 

Cruz & Zeichner. (Mar 16, 2020). COVID-19 in Children: Initial Characterization of the Pediatric Disease. Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-0834